The Enneagram is an instrument for gauging differences in personality. The name derives from "Ennea", the Greek word for "nine". The Enneagram slots people into nine different categories.

Each is Unique

In looking at any personality inventory it is important to keep in mind the fact that we are all unique. We are different from each other. No two people are the same. Categorisation could be seen to imply that those listed in a particular category are alike in all respects. Alternatively, it could be argued that categorizing people depersonalises them.

Similarities

While we need to acknowledge the dangers inherent in any form of categorisation, it cannot be denied, on the other hand, that we have an affinity with some people that we do not have with others, and that, while we are like some, we are unlike others. Exploring similarities and differences involves some form of categorisation.

I have found the Enneagram useful. It has helped me understand myself and others better. It has given me greater tolerance and compassion.

Background

The Enneagram originated with the Sufis, Islamic mystics. It was introduced to the West by several routes, which led to a certain diversity in the ways in which it was developed.

For many years the Enneagram was the preserve of Catholic orders, when it circulated as oral tradition and was used as a means of spiritual direction. In time, a wider circle of Christians discovered its usefulness. The prohibition against publication, which gave a monopoly of this knowledge to those initiated into the oral tradition, was finally lifted. The last decade has witnessed an explosion of interest in the Enneagram. Current literature dealing with this inventory is now considerable.

An Introduction

This chapter is intended to introduce you to the main features of the Enneagram. The treatment is in no way exhaustive. If you want to understand more about the Enneagram, I suggest that you enrol in one of the many courses that will patiently and gently introduce you to this unique way of understanding yourself and others. [38]

General Features

The Enneagram divides people into head people, heart people and gut people. Each of these major divisions is further divided into three types,

making nine in all. Each of these types has a distinct energy. You can determine your type by identifying the energy that drives you.

It is also important to recognize that our gift is also our sin. Our giftedness has a flip side. Our weakness is the underbelly of our strength.

Furthermore, each type has a redeemed and an unredeemed aspect. Different of our actions will locate us, at different times, at different spots along a continuum between the redeemed and unredeemed poles.

However, while our behaviour is not absolutely consistent, given the selectivity of early environmental conditioning, as well as other pressures to which we are subject, there is sufficient stability, or predicability, about human behaviour, except in the case of those who are severely dysfunctional, for us to be generally located between certain boundaries on the continuum. Reflecting the nature of this continuum, Don Riso, in dealing with the different types, further sub-divides them into those who are healthy, average or unhealthy.

Integration and Disintegration

This raises a further issue. Those who have developed the Enneagram have located a direction of integration and a direction of disintegration. For example, if a Nine is disintegrating he will begin to exhibit the features of an unhealthy Six, that is, he will withdraw from life. On the other hand, if a nine is intent on maturing and growing, she will take up the sorts of tasks that pre-occupy the Three.

Wings

Each of us has two wings, at least potentially. These are the numbers on either side of our number. When we are young we begin picking up one of the wings. It is usually when we are older that we develop the second wing.

The Numbers

You will recognize parts of yourself in almost all of these numbers. However, there will generally be one that you will identify with more than others. It will be related to the source from which you derive your energy. You will also notice that a particular behaviour, for example, drivenness and the need for achievement, may derive from one of a number of quite different sources. This is particularly the case with the One and the Three. Both are achievers, but for different reasons.

It is time I introduced you to the numbers. [40]

The One

The One, which is in the gut space, is described by Riso as The Reformer. The One is driven by the need to be perfect and to set in order everything in his or her world. The One is intolerant of imperfection in themselves or others. They see themselves and their way as correct. The One will ensure that the "i's" are dotted and the "t's" crossed and they will oversee events to ensure that everything runs perfectly. You can have confidence in the organizational ability of the One. But they can be intimidating, even irritating. If something goes wrong, particularly as a consequence of your neglect, run for cover. The sin of the One is anger, or resentment. It is this anger that empowers them. Ones are significant achievers. Their achievements are energized by the need to put the world right.

The Two

The Two is in the heart space. Heart people are concerned with relationships. Riso describes the Two as The Helper. Twos give of themselves and they do this because they need to be needed. They need you to need them. Most Christians like to see themselves as Twos, because good Christians are supposed to love and care for others. When there is no-one around to need them, the Twos lose their energy. They also avoid their own needs, or, more accurately, they seek to meet their own needs by meeting yours. They are also very concerned about what people think of them. The sin of the two is flattery or manipulation. By serving you they try to enlist your support and control you. They will be disappointed in you if you do not comply with their secret intentions, if you are unwilling to be conscripted.

The Three

The Three, the second of the heart numbers, needs to be successful and to make a good impression. He sees himself as efficient. He is described by Riso as The Status Seeker. He needs to avoid failure. While the One is an achiever, because he is driven by perfectionism, the Three succeeds because of her passion to succeed. The sin of the Three is deceit. The unhealthy Three is a vain go-getter. The Three will be seen by others to play fast and loose with the truth. He may big-note himself and will almost certainly believe his own publicity. The three will often be seen to be shallow.

The Four

The Four is also in the heart space. Riso describes the Four as The Artist. Don't be confused, however. Not all artists are Four's. Fours need to be special and to preserve an image of themselves as sensitive and refined. Their specialness may even reside in an illness, which they will be reluctant to give up. They need to stand out from the crowd. They will wear clothes that draw attention to themselves. Real life is too prosaic for the Four. They need to dress it up. They are always longing for the unattainable. If they find what they long for, they are likely to lose interest in it. They avoid simple joy [41] and sadness. The sin of the Four is envy, jealousy and melancholy. They cannot abide others being more special than they are.

The Five

Five is the first of the head numbers. Riso describes her as The Thinker. The five has an image of herself as wise. Fives need to have it all together before they act. Every detail needs to be in place on the map. The problem with Fives is that they can never marshal all the details or acquire all the necessary skills. They will go to course after course but never launch themselves into any action. They are super-cautious. The sin of the Five, like other of the numbers, is multi-faceted. They are proud of their reputation for being knowledgeable. They are also anxious and beset by ego-stinginess. Fives are good to have on a committee. They will prevent you racing unprepared into a quixotic project. However, they may also hold you back from venturing into something realisable and beneficial.

The Six

The second number in the head space is Six. Riso has classified the Six as The Loyalist. The Six is a faithful member of any group to which he commits himself. He considers his loyalty a significant virtue. The Six is energized by the need to avoid deviance or disobedience. Sixes are afraid to venture on their own, to put themselves at risk. They will often remain on the perimeter of a group, avoiding too great a participation. They prefer observing than being involved in the rough and tumble. Their obvious sin is fear or cowardice. They need to protect themselves at all cost. While they will be loyal to the communities with which they are involved, they will often attempt to prevent the group moving beyond their comfort zone.

The Seven

The Seven, according to Riso, is The Generalist. The need of the Seven is to avoid personal pain. They will tell you they are fine. They will disguise their pain behind belly-shaking humour. With a fund of outrageous stories, they will be the life of any party. Their sin is gluttony. They are glutinous for the good things of life. Richard Rohr argues that many Charismatics are Sevens. This may seem surprising, as few would assume that Charismatics are head people! However, the charismatic Christian is drawn to a distinctive theological ethos that concentrates on victories and triumphs. The Charismatic model of spirituality focuses on the resurrection, rather than the cross. It is through the cross that the victory is won. The cross is seen as something over and done with. The cross, as a way of life, is rarely emphasized.

I indicated earlier that our sin is the flip-side of our gift and that we are located somewhere on the continuum between unredeemed and redeemed. This is seen clearly in the case of Francis of Assisi, who was a Seven. Prior to his conversion, this son of a wealthy merchant would frequently carouse all night, where he would be the life of the party. After encountering Christ, and committing himself to Lady Poverty, it was his ready capacity for humour, exercised now with a gentleness, that jollied his lay preachers into continuing their effort. He used humour to raise their spirits. He had become a redeemed Seven.

The Eight

We re-enter the gut space with the Eight, who wants it known that he is strong, that he has it together. He avoids weakness and tenderness like the plague. The Leader, as Riso describes him, needs to tell it like it is. He is the prophet. He easily discerns the underbelly of reality. He takes great delight in cutting down the pretentious and even the conventionally respectable, which indicates, of course, that he is not as strong, or secure, as he wants us to believe he is. The sin of the Eight, of the prophet, is vengeance and cruelty. His gift becomes his sin when he slips his knife into a vulnerable underbelly and twists it around, enjoying the discomfort of his victim, be it an individual or an institution. In toppling others he seeks to overcome a feeling of inferiority that is scarcely disguised behind a facade of power and authority. [42]

The Nine

The middle number in the gut space is the Nine. Riso called the Nine The Peacemaker. Nines cannot live with disunity, they exude peace, equanimity and calmness. Others are often calmed by being in their presence. However, this calmness can often mask an explosive gut energy. Nines repress strong emotion. They are usually passive aggressive. Be careful not to push their seemingly inexhaustible patience beyond breaking-point, or, if you do, prepare for a quick exit. Nines are energized by the need to avoid, to avoid tension, discomfort and effort. Their sin is laziness. Where the Ones will make mountains out of molehills, the Nines will reduce mountains to molehills. Nothing is important enough to get into a sweat over. The Ones have sometimes been called universal ball joints.

Head, Heart and Gut

One writer described gut people, because of the energy of their gut emotions, as ships on the waves. Being concerned with what others thought of them, heart people were likened to fish in a bowl. Because of their lack of committed involvement in life, those in the head space were described as peeping Toms. The predominant emotion of gut people is anger, of heart people is anxiety and of head people is fear. [43]

Prayer

The Enneagram has frequently been used to help people learn to pray. Head, heart and gut people find different ways of praying more suited to their personalities. Head people are happier with focussed meditation. The imagery of Ignatian spirituality appeals to them, as does the use of Christian mantras, which help them centre themselves in God. Heart people, who are always looking to others, usually for their approval, are helped if they centre themselves in themselves and allow images to arise from this centred self. They appreciate expressive prayer, in which there is considerable feeling. For gut people, prayer is a quiet abiding, without words and without images. They enjoy just being with God.

Following Through

I hope that I have wetted your appetite to know more. The Enneagram is a fascinating typology, a grid that helps us identify clusters of attributes. It is also useful to spiritual directors seeking to help people discern the way in which God is maturing them, so that they can more actively participate in her initiative. [44]

[SFM 38-44]